1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine-implemented method of handling hand tiles/cards of a virtual player during a tile/card game and a gaming apparatus for performing the machine-implemented method, more particularly to a machine-implemented method of handling hand tiles/cards of a virtual player according to preferences of the virtual player during a tile/card game and a gaming apparatus for performing the machine-implemented method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mahjong is a game originated from China and is very popular in Asia. Four players are required to play Mahjong, and people cannot play Mahjong (or other multiplayer tile/card games) as they wish due to shortage of players sometimes.
Therefore, there is a conventional gaming method of playing Mahjong, and people can play Mahjong with virtual players using a gaming apparatus capable of performing the conventional gaming method. However, artificial intelligence of the virtual players in the conventional gaming method is designed to merely pursue winning and lacks human personality. Moreover, not only skills of the player himself but also awareness of other players' usual practices and personal preference are important for winning a game of Mahjong. The conventional gaming method fails to simulate the usual practices and personal preferences of virtual players during a game of Mahjong. Thus, playing Mahjong with the virtual players through the conventional gaming method is relatively uninteresting since the virtual players merely pursue winning without human personality.